Twenty first century has been an ever glorious time for the digital world. It all started from a simple unembellished computer that was seldom available back in the olden times and after undergoing a certain mind blowing process of evolution we have reached an age of fancy computers, laptops and smartphones that are randomly available and in reach of individuals of all age groups now. Out of all digital devices smartphone is the most engaging one because of its low weight and one touch reach to entire digital world. People love to keep it with them every second of their day and it is by far considered to be the biggest culprit of digital distraction in terms of human productivity, mental focus, their ability to meet challenges as well as their cognitive behavior.
There are 3 billion users of smartphone only let alone other devices. These numbers are ever growing and might reach a skyrocketing level in the coming years. When we talk about smartphones, we may never forget the world of social media. Social media is talk of the town today. People feel illiterate and bored if they are not engaged with social media. They all feel obliged to be updated by the pomp and show it brings plus the entertainment it provides.
Excessive use of smartphones and social media without any productive reasons results in a havoc upon human mind that blocks their way to success and happiness in life. People are so hooked with mobile apps – it has become a dopamine releasing activity from center of their brain; dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for happiness and excitement. While digital platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. do have their fair share of productive use for people but If you overuse it, you have to face the music.
Adverse Effects of Digital Distractions:
There are ample of drawbacks of being digitally distracted. Our brain has to go through a noticeable amount of perturbation every time it is distracted. Hence, it suffers and we lose our direction and goals. Some adverse effects of digital distraction are:
Don’t let you stay focused on your goals:
According to a study, 73% of population responds to distraction immediately. When we are more indulged in digital world, we are more likely to lose focus towards certain goals in life. Every human being is born with a certain aim in life and if you spend enough time on social apps and not prioritize your goal then you will never be able to reach that level of success you wish for.
Influence academic progress adversely:
A study published in the Canadian Journal for scholarship of teaching and learning declared that 49% of undergraduates admitted that use of technology for other off task purposes was really distracting for them and about 68% instructors of the university said they felt a huge connection between digital distractions and poor grades.
Diminish productivity at Workplace:
Similarly, use of gadgets at workplace has significantly reduced efficiency and task performing ability of workers. Nonetheless, these gadgets are part and parcel of their respective jobs but they are major cause of digital distraction for those who use without any significant purpose. A survey from Adobe concluded that mostly workers are distracted by instant messages, emails and other unnecessary notifications at least 14 times per day. Similarly, an analysis gathered by Rescue showed that an average worker looks at his digital gadget every six minutes.
Importance of Focus in the World of Digital Distraction:
As it is said that ‘Loss of focus is the beginning of destruction’. It is indeed a key to have a successful and stress free life. Focus is what makes you determined and be in present moment. It takes 23 minutes on average to focus back on a task if you get distracted and 25% of the time people forget and never return or complete the task they were supposed to be focused and working on. It is studied that interruptions arise 20 times per hour and only four of them may be substantial. Staying focused has myriad of benefits in today’s world of digital distraction such as improved memory, better academic results, efficient workplace performance, peace of mind, control over negative thoughts and many more.
Strategies to Overcome Digital Distraction:
If you are fed up of your addiction to those gadgets in your hands for most part of your day, you can incorporate some notable strategies to overcome digital distractions in your personal and professional life.
Limit Notification Bells:
Every time you sit try to focus on your study, sit with family to have conversation with them or have a friend’s reunion, a little twinge from your phone is never far away always ready to ruin your moment. To avoid these little beeps ringing every now or then for no purpose you should limit their reach by blocking unnecessary notifications that randomly show up on your phone. You should only allow notifications from important people and work.
Design A Schedule:
People who work according to a schedule are believed to have better discipline in life. You should design a specific timetable and perform activities accordingly. There should be a specific time frame for all kind of important tasks that you go through the entire day. In this way, you can easily enjoy the world of technology as well as be able to give your due attention focus to other important duties of your life as well. Students and workers are said to have better performance when they follow a schedule in their daily life and their screen time becomes limited significantly.
Block Unnecessary Web Links:
You might have noticed that while surfing Internet you come across several promotional links that are usually are completely unavoidable but you still end up browsing those links for hours. Such an example is some shopping sites with discount tags. These are designed to attract human mind in such a way that you will find yourself wasting your time and money on them without any cause. By blocking such links you can help yourself save your precious time and give your focus to an important task that benefit you in one or more ways.
Practice Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is the practice of deliberately bringing one’s attention towards what you sense in the present moment. It is a kind of meditation which has proven its worth and is reported to have been utterly beneficial for human brain. It improves, focus, memory and concentration by removing nagging stress from life. It gives you a way to focus on your present moment without being disturbed by any external stimuli. It helps you to not be dragged towards distractions by maintaining your mental capacity to focus, moreover, According to research mindful meditation has abundant different health benefits as well. It involves breathing techniques, muscle relaxation exercises and several other practices.
Change Environment:
As per research, it is found that changing environment or even just moving from one room to another can make your mind change and bring new ideas. You can switch your focus by changing the place you are in. Students often take breaks in between study time and when they come back they feel more focused and motivated:
Keep Check On Your Social Media Use:
As we all know that there is no uncertainty in admitting that we all are victims of using social media a whole heap of time. We are often seen scrolling our Facebook or Instagram up and down pointlessly. A better idea would be follow only important and informative content. If you find such content that is totally useless you should never follow and if there is an account you follow and it has no time worthy content then unfollow it and move on. Same goes for Facebook, Twitter. A new race of updating every move you make on your social media handles in a new trend. Just update when necessary and don’t always run towards being updated by others. Limit your response to insignificant tags and In today’s time every digital gadget comes with an advantage of turning the ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ mode on. So if your biggest exam of the year is around the corner or there is a chief meeting coming and mentions on different posts.
Keep ‘Do Not Disturb’ Mode On:
you don’t want to be distracted then you can turn on this mode for as much time as you want. After you are done with your task you can always uplift this mode and answer your missed calls, emails or important updates you missed meanwhile.
Keep Those Gadgets Away:
Sometimes simply what you can do is to keep your mobile phones, tablets or laptops at a different place. If you are in your class, keep it in your bag or just submit it to authorities and get it back in break or at the time you leave. If you are at work place, keep them at an unreachable place and if you are working or studying and likely to be disturbed then just keep them in another room of you home.
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